“They pointed out that the savages from Rageron had been tamed and taught to worship the Goddess,” Deep said. “But the Beast Kindred never had the genetic need to dominate that the Scourge do. It turned out to be impossible to breed that out of them.”
“So what happened? How did you guys become mortal enemies?” Kat asked. “Was it because they wouldn’t stop mistreating their women?”
“Their continued sexual practices led to a lot of friction, yes,” Lock said. “But it wasn’t until it became common knowledge that the Scourge were experimenting on and torturing abducted Kindred warriors and their brides that all-out war broke out between us.”
Kat made a face. “But why would they do something so horrible?”
“They claimed that they were looking for the connection between the Kindred and their mates—the connection they themselves seemed to be lacking,” Deep rumbled. “But nobody really believed that—what they were doing was all about revenge.”
“Revenge?”
Lock nodded. “You see, from the genetic trade, the Scourge got the Kindred size and musculature and prowess in battle but they also inherited our greatest weakness.”
“Our inability to breed females,” Deep clarified. “With our people, only five percent of pregnancies result in female children. But in the Scourge, the trait was worse. Only one fifth of one percent of their pregnancies resulted in girls.”
“They hated us for it—they still do,” Lock said. “They blame us for the decimation of their race.”
Deep made a sound of disgust in his throat. “They had something to do with it too—right here in fact. During the Battle of Berrni. You can see the results.”
They were climbing a ridge that ran along the top of the greasy brown dunes as he spoke. What she saw when they made it to the top, took Kat’s breath away.
There, on a vast field of barren gray dirt, lay the wreckage and remains of hundreds of space ships. Some of them looked a little like the shuttle they had come in and she assumed they must be of Kindred design. Others were completely alien with strange, gleaming black skin that her eyes kept wanting to slide away from—apparently Scourge ships.
“This is the Field of Berrni—it was the final testing ground,” Lock said quietly, gesturing to the wrecked and abandoned ships. “We had broken into their medical complex and rescued the prisoners they had taken and we were about to wipe them out completely. In desperation, the Scourge deployed a viral bomb designed specifically to cause spontaneous combustion in anyone with Kindred DNA.”
Kat put a hand to her mouth. “Oh my God—so they burned them alive?”
Deep nodded. “Look in any of these abandoned ships and you’ll see little piles of black ash—all that remains of the pilots.”
“But the Scourge didn’t count on one thing—they themselves had Kindred DNA,” Lock said. “They thought that they had modified their virus enough so that it wouldn’t affect them—but our dominant genes are incredibly strong. The survivors of the battle escaped aboard the Father ship but not wholly intact.”
“It sterilized them,” Deep explained. “All but a few who were completely shielded from the initial blast.” He looked grim. “We think the AllFather was one of them.”
“So he might be looking for a way to replenish his race?” Kat guessed. “Do you think that’s what he wants Lauren for?”
“It’s entirely possible,” Lock said. “Though we won’t know for sure unless we can find the exact wording of the prophesy.”
Kat shook her head. “Oh, poor, poor girl. I really feel sorry for her now.”
“We’ll do what we can to help find her,” Lock promised quietly. “We’re not just here to dissolve the bond between us.”
“Of course not,” Deep agreed dryly. “We have much more noble ambitions in mind than simply separating our souls.”
“If you say so.” Kat gave him a look. “But are you sure it’s safe for us to be here? Especially you two—I mean, with the spontaneous burn-you-to-death-if-you’re-Kindred virus running around?”
“Why do you think we landed so far from the Complex?” Deep asked, nodding to the gray spikes and spires rising in the distance. The sprawling building was apparently where they were headed. “Lock and I are both wearing monitors that will detect any stray virus strains that might be harmful long before they become concentrated enough to hurt us.”
“The virus has had years to dissipate so we don’t expect any trouble,” Lock explained. “But we’re moving in slowly, just in case.”
Kat sighed. “All right—as long as you two are safe.”
“Why, Kat.” Deep put a hand over his heart. “I didn’t know you cared.”
Kat refused to rise to the bait. “You know I do,” she said quietly. “And just because you don’t, doesn’t mean I can turn it off just like that.” She snapped her fingers to illustrate her point.
For a moment, Deep looked stricken. “Kat,” he said, stopping in his tracks. “Kat, I…”
“What?” Kat stopped beside him and looked up at him, her heart pounding. Was he going to admit that he cared after all? From the corner of her eye she could see Lock’s face filled with hope.
But Deep just shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice. “Sorry it has to be like this. But it does.”
“All right.” Kat nodded stoically and began walking again. Let him do what he wanted—she wasn’t going to beg. And she wasn’t going to remain bonded to a man who didn’t want and love her—not even halfway bonded. It’s for the best, she told herself as they trudged closer to the monstrous gray building that Deep had called the Complex. We all need to be free of each other—it’s the only way.
But her heart was sore and she found she couldn’t look at Deep as they walked. Not if she wanted to keep from crying.
Thirty
Lauren sat huddled on the tiny triangular seat, crammed into the claustrophobically small holding cell and tried not to cry. It’s going to be all right. Everything is going to be all right, she told herself over and over. If she gave in to panic now, everything would be lost. She had to believe she was going to get out of this somehow. Even if her best chance of escape—Xairn—seemed to be completely conflicted about his feelings for her. If he has feelings at all, she thought. He certainly didn’t seem to want to admit it if he did. Could she break down the wall he’d built between them and get him to see that she was important to him? That he needed her as much as she needed him? Lauren hoped so.
The ship had decelerated and landed smoothly and then she’d heard murmuring from the front of the cockpit. The deep, quiet voice she recognized as Xairn’s. The other voice—high and hissing—made her skin crawl. It belonged to the AllFather—the one who wanted to—No, don’t think about it. If you think about it you’ll lose it completely.
Lauren put her fingers in her ears and hummed softly to herself to block out those hateful, hissing tones. The humming started tunelessly but turned into the lullaby her mother used to sing her when she was little. After a few minutes, she could almost hear the beloved voice murmuring the words in her ear… Hush little baby, don’t say a word. Momma’s gonna buy you a mocking bird. And if that mocking bird won’t sing, Momma’s gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if—
“Lauren?”
She looked up to see Xairn standing there with a terrible look on his face. She couldn’t tell if he was angry or just upset but whatever he was feeling, it wasn’t good.
“Xairn?” She stood up and took a tentative step toward him but her legs were weak from sitting in the cramped position so long. She stumbled and started to go down.
“Careful!” Xairn caught her and dragged her out into the main part of the ship before swinging her up into his arms. He held her easily, as though she was lighter than a feather.
“What’s going on?” she asked softly, looking into his eyes. This was the closest she’d ever been to him—the most he had ever touched her.
Without answering, Xairn carried her out o
f the ship and into a long concrete tunnel which appeared to be a hidden landing strip. Despite the tense expression on his face, he handled her gently—as though she might break if he wasn’t careful.
As they left the ship, panic gripped Lauren by the throat. “Where are you taking me?” she asked, struggling to keep her voice from wavering.
“To a holding cell.” His red-on-black eyes flickered to hers quickly and then away.
“But why?” Lauren begged. “This is the perfect opportunity—we can leave in the ship together. Just the two of us.”
“Do you think that scenario didn’t cross my mind?” he demanded in a low voice. “Unfortunately, it crossed my father’s mind as well. He has the control wand in his possession. I cannot start or steer the ship without it.”
Despite the bad news that the AllFather had the key to the ship, Lauren felt encouraged. At least Xairn had admitted wanting to take her away—or at least admitted to thinking about it. That was a definite start. “What are we going to do, then?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Stop talking—these hallways are monitored.”
Lauren was obediently silent as he nudged a button which opened a huge set of double doors that looked like they were made of some kind of metal alloy. The doors swung open silently, revealing a long central corridor with many smaller hallways leading off from it on either side.
Xairn stepped inside and the doors swung shut behind them with a finality that had the panic clawing at her throat again. Lauren refused to give in to the fear. Have to keep calm. Keep my head and trust that he wants me enough to keep me from his father. To keep him from… She cut off that line of thought abruptly and rode silently in Xairn’s arms as he walked down the long hallway, his boots echoing in the empty space.
Lauren supposed she could have walked by now—her legs felt fine. But she didn’t want to. The echoing, empty corridor was creepy—like some kind of a ghost town—and most of the smaller hallways leading off from it were dark and filled with shadows. The air was musty and foul and the few light panels that were on overhead flickered as though they might decide to go out at any time. It was like Xairn was carrying her into a haunted house—one she desperately wanted to escape from. But the man bringing her into it was her only hope of getting out again alive, so she clung to him for dear life.
At last they came to a slightly larger hallway branching off from the main one at an oblique angle. It was blocked by a set of metal doors exactly like the ones that had led into the building in the first place, only smaller. Xairn stopped and nudged a black button which caused the doors to slide silently into the wall, revealing a dimly lit space filled with glass doors and strange equipment.
“What is this place?” Lauren breathed, forgetting she wasn’t supposed to talk.
Xairn closed the door behind them before answering. “The medical wing. We can speak here. This wing is shielded from the rest of the Complex.”
“The medical wing?” she asked.
Xairn nodded. Where my father and his chief medical officers used to perform… experiments.”
“Experiments? What kind of experiments?” Lauren shivered as she looked around. There were several glassed in rooms—some were bare but one was set up like an operating theater. But the instruments that lay scattered on the floor and the exam table were strange and brutal. Saws with jagged teeth, long, thin picks with razor sharp points at their ends, something that looked like stainless steel barbed wire unwound in a lethal, shining line across the glassy red floor…
“What kind do you think?” Xairn said in a low voice.
Lauren felt sick. “Torture—my God, they tortured people here, didn’t they?” The fear she’d been trying to hold back suddenly grabbed her by the throat and she couldn’t breathe. “Oh please, Xairn. Please, no,” she whispered in a low, trembling voice. Clinging to him desperately, she buried her face in his neck. “Please…please don’t hurt me.”
“You think I brought you here to torture you?” he demanded hoarsely. “To take pleasure in your pain?”
“I…I don’t know.” The tears were coming now, hot and fast and there was nothing she could do to stop them. “Please, Xairn, please…”
“I won’t hurt you,” he said roughly. “Lauren, look at me.”
Reluctantly, she pulled her face away from his neck and looked up into those burning crimson eyes. “Yes?”
“I won’t hurt you,” he repeated. “And I won’t let anyone else hurt you either.”
“Not even your father?” she whispered.
“Especially not him. I won’t let him have you.” His eyes blazed and a muscle in his jaw clenched. “And I won’t let him harm you.”
“You…you won’t?” A rush of relief came over her so strongly she felt faint.
“No.” Xairn shook his head grimly. “I don’t know how I am going to manage it, but I swear on my honor, I will take you away from this place unharmed and bring you back to your home planet. Do you understand?”
“Oh Xairn!” She almost laughed through her tears. “I…I could just kiss you!” Throwing her arms around his neck she leaned forward impulsively and pressed her lips to his. They were surprisingly soft but before she could register much more, Xairn jerked away from the sudden contact.
“Don’t.” His deep voice was harsh, strained. “Don’t ever do that again, Lauren. Or I can’t be responsible for the consequences. Do you understand?”
Not really? Why did a simple kiss upset him so much? But she only nodded contritely. “I’m sorry. I’m just so glad. So glad you care about me enough to help me.”
“Let us be clear about one thing.” He held her eyes with his. “You have aroused emotions in me—very strong emotions. But that is not a good thing.”
Lauren stared at him uncertainly. “Do…do you mean that you hate me? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Not hate, no.” He shook his head. “What I feel for you…let’s just say it will be better—far better—if those feelings are never explored or acted on.”
“I don’t really understand what you’re trying to say,” Lauren said softly. “But I do want to thank you for promising to help me.”
“There’s no point in expressing your gratitude yet—I haven’t even worked out a plan.” He sighed. “Until I do, I must pretend to comply with my father’s will. And you’re going to have to trust me. Can you do that?”
Biting her lip, Lauren nodded hesitantly. “Yes, I trust you.”
“Thank you.” He nodded gravely. “That means a great deal to me. And now I have to put you in one of these cells and secure the rest of the Complex before reporting back to my father.”
“You’re leaving me alone? In here?” She couldn’t help glancing at the instruments of torture strewn around the surgery suite room again.
“Nothing will harm you,” Xairn said, his rough voice almost soothing. “We are the only creatures alive on this planet. Well—other than a few minor life forms like the black crested lizards. But they live mainly on the beaches and won’t come inside.” He shook his head. “The point is, you’ll be safe, even if I’m in another part of the building.”
“But what if…if your father decides he wants to come, uh, see me?” Lauren asked, unable to keep the fear out of her voice. “If he touches me, Xairn, I swear I’ll go crazy. I can’t help it.”
“He often has that effect on females,” Xairn said grimly. “But you don’t need to worry about him—not yet. He is ensconced in his Souda—it’s a special room within the Complex which channels the power of the planet directly to his person. Once he enters it, a dravik forms.”
Lauren frowned. “A what?”
“A dravik—a large bubble made of nourishing blood which forms around him. He can move about the Complex while ensconced within it, but until it bursts, he will be unable to touch you.”
“But how long will that be?” Lauren protested. The idea of the hideous, skeletal AllFather encased in a bubble made of blood was horrific enough. But the i
dea of him coming for her after the bubble had burst and he was covered in the stuff—well, it didn’t bear thinking about.
“At least a few hours—most likely more,” Xairn said patiently. “But you don’t need to fear—I will return for you long before that. I promise. I just have to lull my father into believing all is well and we’ll make our escape.”
“How? I thought your father had the only key to the ship we came in?”
“He does but there are abandoned ships not far from here—many of them—from the last battle that was fought here with the Kindred. We can take one of those—they should still be operational.”
“All right.” Lauren sighed and nodded. “I trust you to do right by me, Xairn. Just please hurry—this place gives me the creeps.”
“It has been the site of untold horrors,” he agreed, taking her into one of the empty, glassed in cells. “But they’re over and done and in the past. You have nothing to fear now.”
“I hope you’re right.” As he deposited her gently onto her feet, Lauren reached up impulsively and gave him a tight hug. “Come back soon,” she whispered in his ear. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
“I will come as soon as I can.” Xairn gently disengaged her arms from around his neck and when his face came into view, it wasn’t at all happy. “But you must stop touching me that way, Lauren. It…is not a good thing.”
“Because it makes you feel?” she asked softly.
Stiffly, Xairn nodded. “Yes. I must go now.”
“All right.” She stood with her back to one glass wall and watched as he locked her in. “Goodbye.”
“I’ll return,” he said shortly. “Remember, you’re perfectly safe. There is no one else on the entire planet besides the two of us, my father and his guards. And they are programmed to stay exclusively with him and protect him.”
“All right.” Lauren nodded and watched as he left the medical wing. She listened as the echo of his boots died away to silence and then began to pace. The glass holding cell was small—barely bigger than the one she’d been kept in aboard the Fathership, although thankfully larger than the tiny cramped space she’d been shoved into on the adjunct ship. Still, it only took her five steps to get from one end to the other and eight steps to go across diagonally.
Brides of the Kindred Volume One: Books 1-4 Page 114
